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Google fined more than €400m by Irish regulator over its use of location data

Published 1w ago · Updated 1w ago

Covered in 5 countries

AI summary55s readNegative

Google has been hit with a €403 million penalty by Irish data regulators for misleading users into continuous location tracking.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission has penalized Google with a fine exceeding €400 million for violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation regarding user location tracking. The regulatory inquiry found that the tech giant manipulated consumers into constant tracking, leaving them unaware that their movements were used to target advertisements and infer personal interests. This multi-hundred-million-euro penalty concludes an investigation that originated from complaints filed by several European consumer rights organizations years prior.

The regulatory inquiry determined that Google's processing practices infringed transparency and accountability obligations under EU privacy laws between May 2018 and February 2020.
Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle stated that individuals lost control over their personal data and remained unaware of how their location was exploited.
The investigation was initiated following formal complaints submitted by multiple European consumer rights organizations.

By the numbers

403Meuros fined by Irish watchdog

Why it matters

As the lead European privacy regulator for many major tech conglomerates headquartered in the region, Ireland's Data Protection Commission plays a pivotal role in enforcing EU data laws against Silicon Valley giants. Such substantial financial penalties highlight growing regulatory scrutiny over digital advertising business models that rely heavily on continuous consumer surveillance.

What outlets agree on

All covering outlets agree that Ireland's Data Protection Commission has fined Google more than €400 million for breaching EU privacy regulations through its handling of user location data.

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In this story

GoogleData Protection CommissionEUIreland

Covered by 7 outlets

57% of the sources are Center

43%57%

Lean ratings via Ad Fontes Media, Media Bias/Fact Check, AllSides

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